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Behind the first waffle slab reinforced with GFRP

Behind the first waffle slab reinforced with GFRP

When Polycorp reached out to SFTec three years ago, it was the beginning of a solid partnership. Polycorp, a developer and a property management company, was looking for products that will help reduce the lifecycle costs of the buildings they operate, while respecting the budget of their project.  

Their project, at the time, consisted of building a waffle slab reinforced with GFRP – something that had not been successfully achieved anywhere in the world. SFTec is proud to be part of this journey and to share a few insights with our audience. 

About Polycorp

Polycorp is a progressive development and building management company, based in Halifax,  Nova Scotia. While they had started as renovators of rooming houses, today, they have expanded to the full construction of condos, neighborhoods, and other complex building projects. They specialize in ICF installations and pay close attention to the building materials they choose. In fact, as building managers, the quality and longevity of their buildings is one of their highest priorities. Therefore, they are constantly searching for the next best building materials in the industry that will allow them to successfully achieve their construction goals, with the best and most durable outcome. It was not long before they stumbled upon GFRP, and consequently, SFTec. 

Find out more about Polycorp: https://www.polycorp.ca/about/ 

About the project

Polycorp reached out to SFTec with a single purpose: to find the best material to continue building long-lasting concrete structures. When they realized GFRP could be an option, they conducted several engineering analyses and studies to find out how they could use that construction solution into a waffle slab structure, as these were very common in Polycorp’s line of work. 

Using SFTec’s FRP bars, SFT-Bar®, Polycorp successfully built the first waffle slab reinforced with GFRP in the world. Here are some pictures of the project in Halifax. 

Next Steps 

Thanks to the success of this first project, Polycorp is exploring further the use of GFRP to reinforce the ICF walls. Since they specialize in ICF installations, combining SFTec’s building materials with their expertise will open up a whole new world of possibilities. Stay tuned to find out about the upcoming  project by Polycorp and SFTec. 

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